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Advocates Are Sounding the Alarm on Graham-Cassidy Proposal

Posted September, 18 2017 by Taylor Frazier

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A new proposal from Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that would devastate New York and the nation could pass as early as next week. An updated analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that New York State would lose more than $33 billion by 2027 under the Graham-Cassidy amendment – a last-ditch effort by the Senate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) before September 30. CBPP says that beginning in 2027, Graham-Cassidy “would likely be even more damaging” than repealing the ACA without a replacement, which would have caused an estimated 32 million people to lose their health coverage.

The Graham-Cassidy amendment would:

End Medicaid Expansion and Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) that help make insurance more affordable in 2020 and convert all funds to a block-grant.

Require a state match to use any block-grant funds.

End the Medicaid program as we know it, by capping how much states can spend on each Medicaid recipient.

Graham-Cassidy would replace the federal funding for Medicaid Expansion and APTCs with a block-grant to states. According to CBPP, this block-grant would include a 17 percent cut to current federal funding levels by 2026 and would not be adjusted based on the size of a state’s Medicaid population or changes in a state’s funding needs. New York would experience the second largest funding cut in the nation. There is also no requirement in the amendment that states use this money on health coverage. This block-grant would completely disappear in 2027.

Your Representatives in Congress need to hear from you. Please call 844.898.1199 and tell your Representative to vote “NO” on this devastating proposal.